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Atlantic and Mediterranean Company
poster]] The Atlantic and Mediterranean Company (Spanish: Compania del Atlantico y Mediterraneo) was a Spanish-Brunanter railway company and ocean passenger line. Throughout its history, the company had three different names: *Royal Brunant Railway (1889-1925) *Rail and Steam Company of Brunant (1925-1928) *Atlantic and Mediterranean Company (1928-1962) History Railway Royal Brunant Railway was founded in 1889 as the precursor to A&M; it came under a majority ownership of R.A. Gilmour in 1906. The operated trains across the country and by 1910 were the largest rail company in Brunant, and were focused on quality and timeliness. In 1918 they began expanding their services by opening the Ambrosian Hotel in Koningstad. This and other hotels accommodated rail travelers. They added a ship to their service in 1925 and were rebranded as the Rail and Steam Company of Brunant. Their hotel network was now expanded to other cities in Brunant (and Barcelona) to not only serve rail travelers, but also steamship passengers and tourists. Ships RSC began a daily steamship service to and from Barcelona on 1 July 1926; this was touted as the quickest service to the Catalan capital with an average run of 5 hours. In 1928 they formed an alliance with a Spanish ship company and formed A&M Company. In 1930 they expanded their service with cruises to Crete and a two-way service to and from Alexandria, Egypt, via Koningstad. In 1931 they began a transatlantic service to New York and through the Panama Canal to Lovia, carrying many Brunanter and Spanish immigrants looking for a new destiny in America. A&M continued service through the 1930s but encountered financial difficulties as the Depression progressed. With the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, service was reduced and the last ship left Barcelona on 12 November 1938. A reduced transatlantic service continued on and in June 1939 service resumed to and from Barcelona. When World War II broke out two of the ships were outside their ports. SS Corinthian was sailing from Lovia and SS Anatolian was in New York City. Anatolian's captain decided to make a dash for Brunant and on 4 September set off across the Atlantic. Avoiding detection by German U-boats or ships it made its way into Koningstad's port, where it would remain until the end of the War. Corinthian set sail for New York and was ordered into port by A&M officials; after months of sitting idle in port she was sold to the US Navy in the fall of 1940. When the German Invasion pf Brunant began in May 1941, the three remaining A&M ships were in Koningstad. Valencian and Alexandrian were able to leave for Alexandria in Egypt, but flagship SS Anatolian remained at port. The Germans took the ship but on 12 January 1942 it exploded in the port; the Germans were quick to blame the Underground Revolution but others claimed they did it. Ships A&M had a fleet of several ships in its' fleet. Anatolian was the largest of them all, with a length of 224 meters and a top speed of 22 knots. She was used for transatlantic service between New York and Barcelona. Corinthian was the second largest and she did the route from Koningstad to Noble City (Lovia), via New York. Valencian and Alexandrian were used for Mediterranean Sea travel and other small boats and ferries were used for travel from Grijzestad and Brunantstad to the capital. Anatolian was lost during WWII, Corinthian became an American ship, and the fleet was reduced by about half in the postwar age. Corinthian was sold for scrap in 1948 and Valencian continued service until 1951, when she too was sold; her new owners would have her sitting in port until being scrapped in 1953. Major ships *SS Anatolian (1931-1951) *SS Valencian (1926-1940) *SS Corinthian (1923-1942) *SS Alexandrian (1929-1946) Trains A&M had a variety of trains which operated from the 1890s to to the 1960s. The principal route, the Central Line (constructed between 1862 and 1869), was where they first began service. Originally operating both cargo and passenger trains, they sold their cargo operation in 1906 to focus on people-moving. They operated standard trains and in 1898 mail trains as well, which were the quickest courier mode at the time. They were one of the major financiers of the East-West Railway going over the Central Ranges and held a virtual monopoly on this line for many years. They also operated on the scenic Cape Cross Railway and the Roodstad-Koningstad line from 1924 onwards. Their train service continued until 1941 when the German occupation began. Taken by the Nazis to transport troops and equipment, the rail lines were often sabotaged by resistance members. After the war the lines were rebuilt and regular service continued from 1947 on. Financial difficulties and rising costs led them to reduce service to the newly-founded East-West Railway Company and in 1962 the company was sold to the state to form Brunanter Railways. Hotels As part of their service package, A&M began constructing hotels in major cities to serve customers. The Ambrosian Hotel was the first, opened in Koningstad in 1929. This was followed by the Hotel Barcelona (1930), the Martinian Hotel (Grijzestad, 1933), the Porter in New York (1935) and the Arthur Hotel in Lovia (1936). These were luxurious and well-equipped hotels and became noted for their quality of service. As their liner service declined in the 1940s, the hotels began to close down. The Hotel Barcelona was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and the Martinian Hotel was sold in 1941 and operated for a few years longer. The Arthur operated until 1947, when it was sold and demolished, and the Porter suffered the same fate that year. The Ambrosian lasted until 1962 and has now been converted into apartments. Category:Former companies Category:Railway companies Category:Ferry companies